


X Club

by Jamaican Princess (Rocquellan)



Category: HIStory 2: Crossing The Line, HIStory Web Series
Genre: Angst, Attempted Sexual Assault, Creepy OMC - Freeform, Drug Use, Fluff, M/M, Stalker OMC, Violence, Zhen Wu POV, Zi Xuan POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-04-17 14:31:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14191065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocquellan/pseuds/Jamaican%20Princess
Summary: Yu Hao has always been dodgy about the subject of his part time job, so Zi Xuan decides to visit the place and see what's going on. Then Yu Hao gets hurt and things only go down hill from there...





	1. Chapter 1

Qiu Zi Xuan knew it was a bad idea wanting to visit Club X.

The last time he was here he was brutally beaten, along with his now boyfriend, Xia Yu Hao, by drug dealers around the back of the building. He knew it was a risky move to come here without his boyfriend’s knowledge but he had to see for himself what kind of condition Yu Hao was working in. Was he safe as a minor working illegally? Were there benefits? What if there were drug users inside wanting to use his boyfriend for their own advantage? Or just unscrupulous people with bad intentions?

He just had to know.

Zi Xuan had tried to bring it up before when they were together, asking Yu Hao about his bartending work, but his boyfriend had managed to change the subject each and every time, being vague and sometimes outright mum on the topic. Sometimes… sometimes Xia Yu Hao would make him forget in ways that had Zi Xuan’s spine tingling and his arousal spiking and it worked every time to distract him.

Now though, dressed in designer jeans and a close fitting button up that accentuated his broad chest and muscled arms, along with an ‘adult’ hairstyle that saw him ditching the schoolboy bangs, he blew out a breath, fixed his glasses on his nose and prayed that this would work. He walked up to the entrance of the club with his back straight and showed his fake ID that Cheng En had made for his birthday last year as a gag to the guy at the door.

This was a place that hired high school students to work under the table so hopefully they wouldn’t be too strict about certain securities.

And they weren’t. With a cursory glance Zi Xuan was entering a club for the very first time.

The atmosphere was hot and heavy and he didn’t realize this place was so popular. The bar area was full and the dance floor packed. It was a Saturday night though, so that could be a factor. There were multi colored strobe lights and the heavy bass of the music shook the very foundation of the place. There was heavy drinking and some form of debauchery and this wasn’t his type of crowd at all.

As a matter of fact, most of the couples dancing and drinking together were actually men. Like, enough gay couples to maybe label this a gay club.

Holy fuck his boyfriend worked at a gay club.

Did that mean Yu Hao got hit on often by guys? Were there men who wanted his boyfriend for a five minute quickie in the bathroom? Did he get his ass grabbed often?

No wonder his boyfriend wanted to keep this from him! The very idea made him very uncomfortable and very angry. When he managed to find his boyfriend he would give him a good piece of his mind.

And maybe his fist.

Zi Xuan tried to see above the head of the crowd, seeing if he could spot Yu Hao among the various staffs milling about with drink and cocktail trays expertly balanced on their arm while wearing their uniforms. The bustle was too much for him to make out anything solid though, especially since the lights were dimmed too low for him to make any headway.

Zi Xuan was about to step further into the club when something bumped into him from behind and he almost fell flat on his face, catching himself before his injured knee buckled completely.

“Woah, hey! Sorry. Are you alright?”

Arms shot out and grabbed him by the upper arms to help him up and Zi Xuan turned to the guy that had bumped into him, smiling sheepishly.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he managed as the guy looked him over.

Zi Xuan took in the man, who wore a dark jacket suit with a white button up shirt and loafers. He looked like the type with money, his teeth the same color as his shirt when he smiled. He was also an inch or two taller, maybe, with a lean physique.

“I’m really sorry about that,” the man continued.

Zi Xuan nodded. He noticed that the guy still had his hands on his arms, rubbing up and down, which was all sorts of creepy and uncomfortable. He stepped back and dislodged himself from the guy’s unwelcomed embrace. “It’s ok.”

Zi Xuan turned to leave but the guy held him by the wrist and stopped him. In reflex he twisted his hand away and stepped back once again, a frown on his face.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” the man started placating with both hands raised in a show of disarm. “But I’m just wondering if you’re here for a good time. I think you’re really cute and I’m here for some company.”

Zi Xuan shook his head and backed away. “I’m here with my boyfriend,” he said before turning to leave immediately. He didn’t want to hear anything else the guy might have to say to him and wanted to get away as fast as possible. His skin crawled at the encounter but now he wondered if this was what his boyfriend had to put up with on a regular basis.

Having no real destination in mind and not knowing where to start to look since Yu Hao could be anywhere in the crowded place, Zi Xuan went over to the couches lining one corner and took a seat in a spot where he wouldn’t be sitting in anybody’s lap, quite literally. His neighbors were mostly guys engaged in deep conversations and drinking and he felt so out of place.

“Excuse me, would you like a drink?” A female bartender held out a tray to him with two cans of beers on it and Zi Xuan shook his head in the negative. No way would he be drinking and getting intoxicated in this place. No telling what might happen to him before he managed to find Yu Hao. He shook his head and the girl walked away.

Zi Xuan decided then to watch the staff entrance of the bar. Yu Hao would have to refill his tray at some point and once he got to the entrance he would go to him. He needed to have a few choice words with him.

After a few minutes Zi Xuan asked for a bottle of water, which the waiter brought him and he took a grateful sip, not realizing he was so thirsty.

“Hi again,” a voice said in his ear and Zi Xuan startled at the proximity, turning around to see the guy from earlier leaning on the couch, trying to be all up in his personal space.

“You really seem lonely, sure you don’t want some company right now?”

Zi Xuan turned his back to the guy and pushed his glasses up on his nose in a nervous/irritated tick. This guy needed to get lost.

“No, I’m good.”

Get the message, asshole.

“Sure? I can guarantee I’m very good company.”

Zi Xuan didn’t grace that comment with an answer. He just kept watching the bar, hoping to spot his boyfriend.

The guy drew in a breath in what he guessed was supposed to be a sultry way before leaning closer to his ear and talking over the music.

“Guess that boyfriend of yours is a no-show, isn’t he?”

Zi Xuan got up and walked away, tired of this persistent asshole. He weaved his way over to the bar, intending to ask for another bottle of water.

“Hey, I get it, you’re not interested. Sorry to bother you, here’s your bottle of water, you left it behind.”

Zi Xuan looked at the guy, who seemed genuinely remorseful and maybe a little bit sheepish.

“You can be really creepy. Stop it,” Zi Xuan said.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I just really think you’re hot.”

“I’m taken,” Zi Xuan followed up with in a serious tone, no room to believe otherwise in his demeanor.

“Yeah, ok. Here’s your water. Bye.”

Zi Xuan took the bottle and watched as the guy walked away, keeping his eyes on him until said man was a blur in the sea of bodies around him.

He turned back to the bar and blew out a breath, so happy to be rid of that creep. He uncapped the bottle of water in his hand and took a long gulp before putting it on the bar counter, intending to leave it there. He looked out over the crowd again, hoping to spot Yu Hao somewhere. If he didn’t see him he would ask one of the staffs for his boyfriend. He’s at work so somebody must know where he was.

A cursory glance yielded nothing like before. He turned back to the bar, trying to get the bartender’s attention but the woman had swiftly moved to the other end of the counter, dealing with a customer.

Ok, so maybe he could ask one of the other waiters, all he had to do was ask one of the people on the club’s floor. He moved off, walking through people again to reach a staff. He spotted somebody he could approach and started putting a little more effort in his steps when something weird happened.

For a second everything blurred out of focus.

“What the…?!”

Zi Xuan stumbled and a hand shot out of nowhere to grab him by the arm.

“Hey, you alright?”

Fuck, Zi Xuan thought through his suddenly frantically beating heart and weak limbs. It was stalker guy.

He wanted to answer but a wave of nausea washed over him suddenly and all he could do was go with the momentum when the guy pulled him against him.

“No…” Zi Xuan groaned into the guy’s neck. Even through the feeling of sickness he could tell the guy had wrapped both arms around him and was holding him close.

“What was that…?” the guy asked way too loud. “You want to get out of here?”

“Yu Hao,” Zi Xuan managed through what felt like a throat badly dehydrated. The guy turned, leading him towards the exit and Zi Xuan knew he should fight this, not go with this guy but it was like he had very little control over his own motor functions. He tried to dig his heels in but it only caused him to stumble in the guy’s embrace.

“Yu Hao,” he managed to groan out.

“Shhhhh,” Creepy stalker guy muttered in his ear. “We’ll be out of here soon.”

“No…”

“I love the fact that you look so young. You can definitely pass for a high school student. High school boys are my favorite, by the way.”

Zi Xuan did not need to know that. Didn’t want to know that he would become a statistic for boys drugged and taken advantage of by seedy men in seedy clubs in the seedier part of Rokujyodori.

“Hey, step up,” creepy stalker guy instructed when they were by the flight of stairs that led to the exit and Zi Xuan did no such thing. Damn it all to hell but he wasn’t going to make this easy on the guy. As a matter of fact, he mustered what little strength he had in his limbs and did his best to try and pull away. He only managed to take a stumbling step back when the guy used one hand to hold him by the hip while the other was firmly on his upper arm.

“Let go,” Zi Xuan managed and he felt like he just went one hundred miles per hour on a merry go round with heat burning him wherever the guy touched him.

“Come on, I’ve got something special in store for you.”

Zi Xuan frowned.

Oh God but please don’t let this happen to him.

This guy was going to rape him.

Maybe murder him too and dump his body somewhere.

Xia Yu Hao…

“HEY, ASSHOLE!”

Zi Xuan’s eyes widened at the sound of that voice. Hell yes but shit was about to hit the fan.

“Get your fucking hands off my boyfriend!”

Zi Xuan jumped when he was grabbed from the guy so roughly his injured knee twinged in pain. He was pushed back into someone’s arms but he could distantly make out the outline of a fight with punches being thrown and connecting solidly.

“What the hell! Xia Yu Hao!” A voice boomed from the right and Zi Xuan whimpered because it felt like his ear drums were about to pop.

“Are you fighting? What the hell are you thinking?”

Zi Xuan was dimly aware there was a crowd gathered around them now and he honestly just wanted to get the hell out of here. It felt like he was losing air somehow.

“Look at my boyfriend, this guy obviously gave him something,” Yu Hao gritted out angrily and then there were hands on his jaw and his forehead and Zi Xuan has never been so grateful to see Yu Hao since the moment they met.

“I’m fine,” he managed to grit out, acutely aware of the cramps building in his left leg.

“Is this true?” a man in a suit suddenly asked and it took Zi Xuan a moment to realize the question was directed at him.

“Yes, he…he gave me…something,” Zi Xuan managed and Yu Hao punched the guy again in the stomach at his words, who he now realized was being held by the security.

“Ok, no more fighting Yu Hao, you might give the club a bad reputation. Take him outside, I’ll call the police in an hour,” the man instructed.

“Thank you, Manager,” Yu Hao answered and Zi Xuan was so grateful to suddenly be transferred to Yu Hao’s arms, where he held on like his life depended on it.

“Hey, you ok?” his boyfriend asked as they made their way outside and Zi Xuan croaked out a yes. When they were outside Yu Hao pushed him against the wall and looked him over.

“Fuck, what did he give you?” Yu Hao asked after scrutinizing his demeanor and looking into his eyes.

“Water…,” Zi Xuan managed. He wanted to say it had to be the water but it took too much effort to try and form whole sentences.

“Hey, give me a minute.”

Suddenly Yu Hao had his phone by his ear and Zi Xuan heard everything that he said.

“Zhen Wen, get your brother and come to Club X, some guy drugged Zi Xuan and tried to have his way with him…”

Zi Xuan could hear the curse from Zhen Wen as if he was standing right there with them. Then Yu Hao pocketed his phone and looked him square in the eye.

“How are you feeling?”

Zi Xuan really took stock of how he felt and croaked out a pitiful, “Like shit.”

Something suddenly touched him on his groin and Zi Xuan moaned so loud and pitiful at the feeling of intense heat his knees almost buckled.

“Fuck, you’re hard as a rock!” Yu Hao pointed out.

Now, Zi Xuan could feel it, unnoticeable before Yu Hao touched him but he felt so horny it was uncomfortable.

“Ok, let’s go…”

“No, my sister and mother are home. I can’t go back there.”

“And my mom’s home too,” Yu Hao trailed off, obviously trying to think of a solution. “There’s a hotel nearby, I’ll take you there.”

Zi Xuan agreed. He had no idea how this would work out but he couldn’t go home looking like this. He would have to think of something to tell his mom about him staying out tonight. They managed to reach their destination in short order, it was really on the next street corner. When they got their room and entered Yu Hao bodily deposited him on the bed before standing and using his cell phone.

“Zhen Wu, you guys have about forty five minutes, make sure that asshole knows he’s touched the wrong guy this time and he’s going to live to regret it…yeah, I know. I’m in the hotel around the corner when you’re done.”

Zi Xuan felt the heat between his legs like a living thing. He squeezed his legs together just because he could, but it didn’t help. He watched from his sprawled position on the bed as Yu Hao systematically removed his uniform and shoes, then his underwear and his mouth literally started to water.

“I need you, I need you,” Zi Xuan moaned. When Yu Hao crawled over him, whispering softly, he grabbed his boyfriend around the neck and kissed him hard, using teeth and tongue and everything in between. He grinded into Yu Hao after grabbing his ass and he had to break the kiss to let out a guttural moan at the friction he so desperately needed.

“Hey, hey, let me take off your clothes, ok?”

Zi Xuan didn’t want to stop for anything but he understood and it was the only reason he stayed still long enough for Yu Hao to get him naked. There wasn’t any exotic foreplay or sensual touches because Zi Xuan had drugs in his system and his judgment was poor and as soon as he could he grabbed Yu Hao around the waist, flipped them so he was on his back and fucked into his boyfriend so hard and so fast he could see the surprise and pain on Yu Hao’s face. But, it felt so damn good his brain receptors bypassed that information and he stormed Yu Hao like a wild animal, who was biting his lip and whimpering under him. He threw his boyfriend’s legs over his shoulders and grabbed the back of his neck with both hands and rode him hard into the sheets, listening to the sounds they were both making and not processing them. The whimpers, groans and growls.

The feelings washed over Zi Xuan and before he could register it he was coming inside Yu Hao, grimy and powerful and it took his breath away. He pulled back and then collapsed beside his boyfriend who was slack mouthed and shaking while staring at the ceiling. He felt conflicted about Yu Hao’s expression but he couldn’t figure out why.

At this particular moment in time he couldn’t seem to care either. The heat had ebbed after his orgasm but now it was back with a vengeance and he groaned loudly before rolling over on top of Yu Hao again, bringing his knees up and widening his boyfriend’s legs to accommodate himself.

“I’m sorry,” Zi Xuan promised after burying his face in his boyfriend’s sweaty neck and he wasn’t sure why he was sorry, just that he was.

And then he fucked him again.

And again…

And again…


	2. Chapter 2

There were dreams and then there were nightmares. The dreams were the good part, them making love, everything so good and perfect. But then the nightmare always followed after. There was a demon on Zi Xuan’s back, literally, and then their lovemaking dissolved into pain and torture. Yu Hao didn’t stand a chance and there was so much pain and betrayal in his eyes as the demon used Zi Xuan against him it felt like a physical thing. He wanted Xia Yu Hao to understand that this wasn’t him, that he was being used but he couldn’t speak at all. The demon took control and Zi Xuan felt his chest constrict so bad it felt like he was going to die of a heart attack. His boyfriend had this look in his eyes like the worst kind of treachery because this wasn’t how they made love, it wasn’t them and Zi Xuan couldn’t wait until he got this toxicity out of his system. He wanted Yu Hao to stop looking at him like the vilest creature to ever walk the earth.

There was no pain and then there was pain. There was utter silence and then there were voices.

Zi Xuan slowly opened his eyes, blearily staring at the ceiling. The pain in his injured knee started as a throb, then mounted to near unbearable as he became more cognizant. The voices around him also became a lot clearer and it made something twist in his chest painfully when he heard Zhen Wu and Zhen Wen arguing about him.

“He wasn’t himself, dammit.” That voice definitely belonged to Zhen Wu.

“I don’t care! My best friend is in a near coma because of him. Do you really expect me to forgive and forget?” Zhen Wen countered icily.

“Will you two just stop?” Definitely Xiao Xiao.

“Look, Yu Hao will definitely recover. He’s hurt but it could have been worse, he doesn’t need a hospital at least. Xiao Xiao took care of him and he just needs to sleep now and get some good rest. As for Zi Xuan, he was under the influence of drugs so I don’t think it’s fair for you to place all the blame at his feet, Zhen Wen.”

Cheng En tried to reason with Zhen Wen but Zi Xuan could feel the atmosphere charged with Zhen Wen’s resentment even while he kept his eyes closed, afraid to look.

“I don’t care what any of you say, I won’t forgive that asshole for hurting my best friend! I trusted him with Yu Hao and look what happened!”

And then a door slammed shut so hard Zi Xuan flinched while he pulled the sheets tighter around him. He felt like crying.

“Hey, he’s awake,” Xiao Xiao’s voice said softly and Zi Xuan could feel the moment they all surrounded him expectantly. He squished his eyes tighter shut, afraid to open them and see the judgment he was expecting from them for hurting his boyfriend, which was slowly coming back to him in snippets and half formed memories.

“Hey, Zi Xuan…?”

Zi Xuan curled on his side and whimpered when Cheng En touched him. He felt like the worst kind of animal for what he did. His friend pulled his hand back at his response and he was glad for it. He didn’t think he deserved any comfort right now.

“Hey, don’t listen to what Zhen Wen said, he lashes out when he’s scared and angry,” Zhen Wu supplied in that soft voice of his but Zi Xuan felt like Zhen Wen was the only reasonable person out of all of his friends. How could any of them ever think what he did to Yu Hao, no matter what kind of influence he was under, could ever be forgivable?

“Yu Hao will be fine…,” Xiao Xiao continued, a hint of desperation in her voice and Zi Xuan curled even smaller if that was possible. He didn’t want to hear that, his boyfriend shouldn’t have been hurt in the first place because of his stupidity. Now he saw why Yu Hao wanted him separated from his work life, because he probably knew that type of environment wasn’t for him at all and now Yu Hao’s paying the price for his stubbornness.

“…Zi Xuan.”

“Where is he?” Zi Xuan finally asked, his voice raspy and hoarse. He opened his eyes and turned to look at his friends then, their outlines a slight blur since he didn’t have on his glasses. In all the emotions he was processing he didn’t realize how much he felt badly hung over and sick until now but he willed some of it away because he had to see for himself that his boyfriend wasn’t as bad as what he was thinking. Or worse.

As a matter of fact he could use the pain as a part of his penance. Anything to punish himself with.

Zhen Wu was the one to hold out a glass of water suddenly and he took a few gulps, not realizing he needed it so bad until it was going down his overly parched throat. He took his time but didn’t stop until the glass was empty. When he was through Cheng En was the one to take the glass back but Zi Xuan wanted so bad to see his boyfriend and to stall it in the same breath. He looked at his friends solemnly.

“Where is he?” Zi Xuan reiterated.

Both Xiao Xiao and Cheng En, who were both standing to the right of him, stepped away and when he looked he realized there was another bed a few feet away where Yu Hao lay fast asleep with the sheets pulled up to his chest. Zi Xuan felt like something died inside him when he saw how lifeless and pale Yu Hao looked. So hurt.

Zi Xuan held out his hand when he tried to shift off the bed and Cheng En was the one to help him, because when he tried to stand he almost face planted. His knee almost gave out on him from the pain.

“Hey, hey, take it easy,” Xiao Xiao murmured and Zi Xuan allowed Cheng En to support him until he was sitting beside his b…Yu Hao, who had bruises around his neck and down his collarbone. A few scratches on his face and hands. He could just imagine what the rest of him looked like.

Bile almost rose when memories came back of what actually happened to the rest of Yu Hao.

“Hey, get a bucket.”

It was Cheng En and Zhen Wu’s footsteps could be heard hurrying away. The next moment Xiao Xiao had a hand on his arm and Zi Xuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I’m fine.” He willed it to be true.

“No, you’re not. Don’t beat yourself up over this, we all make mistakes, remember that.”

Zi Xuan’s bottom lip trembled. “Yu Hao…”

“Will forgive you,” Cheng En finished.

Xiao Xiao took the bucket from Zhen Wu and put it on the floor.

“Hey, I’ll come back later, I need to find Zhen Wen,” Zhen Wu said and the other two saw him to the door. It’s a wonder the guy didn’t take off like a shot behind his brother when he first left. Zi Xuan was too busy looking at his junior though, the guy that wormed his way into his heart and lodged himself there like the worst corkscrew to care too much.

“What if he doesn’t want to see me when he wakes up?”

It was a rhetorical question Zi Xuan had no idea he’d said out loud, so he was surprised when Xiao Xiao answered him.

“Impossible, he likes you too much. Besides, you didn’t drug yourself…he’ll just be happy that you’re alright…”

“But he isn’t.”

“He will be,” Cheng En finished.

“Not when he remembers how I held him down and wouldn’t let go.”

Zi Xuan squeezed his eyes shut at the memory, abstract and sharp at the same time. The tearing and the pain, the blood sweat and tears.

“You need to remember who we’re dealing with here, this guy knows all about pain and hardship and he won’t hold this against you,” Cheng En said, confident, like he knew anything.

Xiao Xiao took his hand and knelt in front of him, looking him square in the eyes and she was so confident in his innocence it was breathtaking and hard to see at the same time.

“I know you don’t have a lot of faith in yourself right now, and I totally understand but have faith in him, please. He likes you and you’ll both be ok. Just please, give him a chance to tell you himself before you decide for him what he will say to you while he can’t say it for himself.”

The thing was she was right. Zi Xuan hadn’t lost faith in Yu Hao, he’d lost it in himself and he didn’t know how to handle it. He wasn’t prepared to deal with any of this. Right now he was a twelfth grader in high school who should be focusing on taking the college entrance exams and keeping his GPA average where it currently was and getting the volleyball team in top shape but instead he’d been drugged and he’d r-r-r…taken advantage of the guy that liked him and he was just a fucking mess and this was all going to go south fast and he just knew this was the end.

“Hey, I’ll get some food,” Xiao Xiao suggested after looking at him again and Zi Xuan folded his arms around his upper body. His stomach protested at the mention of food but he did feel overly starved all the same.

“Some soup ok?” she asked and he nodded without looking at her. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sleeping Yu Hao, his face relaxed a way it wasn’t normally.

There were a few whispered exchange and then she was gone.

Zi Xuan just wanted Yu Hao to open his eyes and look at him like he usually did, which he felt was too much to hope for but he had to think at least a little positive or else he didn’t know what he would do otherwise.

Cheng En sat on his bed and quietly watched them and after a while Zi Xuan felt like he wanted to pass out. Instead of moving from the bed he allowed himself to lie beside Yu Hao, still drawn to his sleeping face until there was nothing.

Then there were dreams that led to nightmares.


	3. WenWu Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zhen Wu finds Zhen Wen after he left the hotel...

Zhen Wu caught up to Zhen Wen on the streets, spotting his angry profile walking on the sidewalk before he jogged over and caught up to him.

“Hey, hold on…”

Zhen Wu grabbed his little brother’s arm but Zhen Wen only shook him off angrily before hurrying his steps even more.

“Stop, damn it.”

Zhen Wu grabbed his arms again, this time making sure to hold on tight and ensuring Zhen Wen’s attempt to get away were futile.

“Let go of me,” Zhen Wen groused, fighting to get out of his hold.

“No, listen to me…”

“Listen to what?! I don’t want to hear anything you have to say,” Zhen Wen rebounded icily, his eyebrows knitted in fury.

It’s not like Zhen Wu didn’t understand his step brother, because he knew Zi Xuan had his fair share of blame in this clusterfuck of an event. But he didn’t want to behave like this was premeditated on Zi Xuan’s part. It was just an unfortunate end result to a very unfortunate event.

“Will you calm down?!” Zhen Wu’s patience was already wearing thin.

Zhen Wen shoved him hard in the chest, causing him to stagger backwards before his little brother took off down the road. Zhen Wu watched him run away, feeling confused, concerned and a little bit angry. He had no idea what was running through Zhen Wen’s head but he vowed to find out and make it all better, even if it’s the last thing he did.

~0~0~0~

Zhen Wu took his time getting home. He knew that was where Zhen Wen went and he wanted to give him a little time to cool off. He entered the house and the sunlight illuminated the entire place brightly, making it obvious that his parents at least weren’t home.

Good.

He had Zhen Wen all to himself right now. He toed off his shoes at the door and made a beeline straight for his little brother’s bedroom, leaving his jacket on the a chair as he went. He knocked softly before demanding that Zhen Wen open up because his door was locked. He twisted the knob harshly before taking his keychain out of his pocket which had a copy of the front door key, his own room key and of course a copy of Zhen Wen’s.

Zhen Wen shot up off his bed with a frown when he unlocked the door and let himself in before closing it behind him.

“Hey! Where did you get a key for my door?” Zhen Wen was incredulous, but Zhen Wu didn’t see how he could come to expect anything less. Their friends didn’t tease him about his ‘little brother obsession syndrome’ for no reason.

“Forget about the key. What is your problem with Qiu Zi Xuan?”

Zhen Wu got up in his step brother’s personal space, staring down into his eyes.

Zhen Wen sighed, exasperated, rubbing the back of his head before he turned away and walked over to a picture of them and Yu Hao he had on his night stand. Xia Yu Hao was like another brother to them but he couldn’t understand the depth of Zhen Wen’s hatred of Zi Xuan.

“Why do you hate him so much?”

Zhen Wen turned to look at him, his features tired and weary.

“I don’t hate him…I…”

Zhen Wen sighed explosively before walking over to his bed and sitting down. Then, he rubbed his face with one hand and Zhen Wu decided to be patient with him, giving him time to think about what he wanted to say.

“I don’t _really_ hate him…there’s just always been something about him that rubs me the wrong way…”

Zhen Wu was very interested in what that would be. It’s not like his little brother had ever been pessimistic about Yu Hao and Zi Xuan’s relationship, but come to think of it he has never been pro them either. It’s like Zhen Wen fell somewhere in the middle with his silent acceptance of them, never smiling or laughing with Xiao Xiao and Cheng En whenever they teased the two and never agreeing to any doubts about them either.

“What are you thinking?” Zhen Wu asked after sitting beside Zhen Wen himself. He hugged him to his side and kissed the top of his head softly before Zhen Wen tilted his face up and kissed him on the lips. Zhen Wen hugged him tight around the middle after and sighed into his shirt.

“He has a way of dealing with Yu Hao that just grates on my nerves. I mean, I know Yu Hao is head over heels for the guy but Zi Xuan acts like the goody two shoes he is with his superior grades and superior attitude and I’m trying hard to like him fully but I can’t seem to.”

Zhen Wu had no idea what his step brother was talking about, but he guessed Zhen Wen just saw them from a different perspective. Zi Xuan was a really awesome guy who didn’t allow his injury to keep him down and he admired that a lot about him. That’s also what pulled Xia Yu Hao in in the first place.

“Sometimes he just talks down to Yu Hao and Yu Hao just eats it up like the guy is his God or something.”

Zhen Wen sounded so petulant Zhen Wu couldn’t help but find it adorable. But Zi Xuan genuinely cared about those around him, his team mates and friends. “Have you ever thought, that just maybe, Xia Yu Hao is so stubborn he doesn’t pay attention unless he’s being given direct orders? Don’t you notice his mom talks to him the same way sometimes?”

“Zi Xuan isn’t his mom…” Petulant again.

“He’s also always flaunting his grades, telling Yu Hao how much his scores are better and that he needs to study more so he can catch up. I mean, Yu Hao is smart, just not the same way that Zi Xuan is smart and I don’t think he recognizes it.”

Zhen Wu chuckled. “Let’s be fair here, before Zi Xuan decided to tutor Yu Hao his grades weren’t really anything to be proud of. I’m not saying he’s not smart, but Zi Xuan thought he was good enough to be worth his time and effort, and now Yu Hao is in the top ten in our class.”

And if you understood where Yu Hao’s grades were coming from, Zhen Wu would advocate for Qiu Zi Xuan getting a medal for what even he thought was impossible.

Zhen Wen huffed, his arms getting tighter and Zhen Wu was hit with the impulse to kiss him on the lips again, especially since they were alone.

“But then this happened and I just can’t look at it the way you guys are…”

“Why not?”

It wasn’t asked with malice or contempt, but Zhen Wu honestly wanted to know why his little brother felt the way he did, why he couldn’t give Zi Xuan the benefit of the doubt? What was his reason for casting Zi Xuan as the antagonist in this little affair instead of the guy that decided he would drug Zi Xuan and use him?

“Because for all he acts like he’s smart, he’s fucking stupid!”

Zhen Wu was taken aback by the vehemence behind those words and he pulled back, looking Zhen Wen straight in the eyes and asking, “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Because I told him, I warned him before that X Club wasn’t the type of place for guys like him. He doesn’t have the street smarts to navigate a place like that and it’s why Yu Hao tried to keep him away from there. If he’d just kept his ass put like a good little senior Yu Hao wouldn’t be recovering from getting raped right now and I can’t forgive him for that!”

Zhen Wu understood. The fact of the matter was that Yu Hao got hurt and Yu Hao is the second most important person to Zhen Wen. Zi Xuan is maybe at the bottom of that scale and he doesn’t think his step brother is able to see past the fact that Zi Xuan is the one to do the actual deed to Yu Hao. At least not yet.

If it’s one thing Zhen Wu knows about Zhen Wen, it was that he couldn’t keep a grudge for too long, no matter how hard he tried.

Instead of answering, Zhen Wu pulled his little brother into a kiss, heated and strong. Their tongues moved against each other, sucking and licking and it was intoxicating to nth degree, like fire and ice and everything nice.

Zhen Wen moaned, long and loud and Zhen Wu held him by the neck, pushing back until he was sprawled on top of a lying down step brother who was arching into him. Their skins were hot and their breaths ragged, the world narrowed down to just the two of them.

Zhen Wu eased up so he could undo the button and zipper on Zhen Wen’s pants and little brother was doing the same, frantic and needy. They freed each other, hard and dripping and Zhen Wu wasted no time, taking them both in hand and stroking, using their own fluids to slick the way.

“Oh my god…” Zhen Wen moaned, widening his legs and throwing his head back and Zhen Wu used the opportunity to kiss along that creamy throat, not sucking and biting like he was tempted to do because somebody might see it. Zhen Wen fisted his hands in his shirt by his hips, his muscles corded and tight and he could tell little brother was near the edge of becoming a human geyser for him.

“Harder…please,” Zhen Wen moaned and Zhen Wu grunted harshly into his throat. His hand fisting them tightened while the other one held tight to the hairs at the back of little brother’s head. He took a good look at that comely face before he kissed those sweet-soft lips again like his life depended on it.

And then they were coming, both their bodies getting whipcord tight as they released almost at the same time, creamy streaks of fluid coating Zhen Wen’s stomach.

Zhen Wu bit one of Zhen Wen’s nipple lightly before pulling back, loving the way little brother shuddered like he was coming apart a second time underneath him.

“Don’t do that, I’m overly sensitive here,” Zhen Wen groaned.

Zhen Wu chuckled. “Stay there, I’ll get us cleaned up.”

Zhen Wen looked down at his stomach, then up at Zhen Wu with one eyebrow raised. “Where can I go with you all over me like this?”

Zhen Wu knew that statement would remain true whether he meant it in the literal or metaphorical sense. He sucked on those kissed bruised lips lightly before pulling back and heading to the bathroom. He got a warm, wet towel and wiped Zhen Wen down until there was no trace of what they just did; their dirty, little secret. This was as far as their little sessions went. Even their love life they would leave up to time, taking things as they came and not rushing into anything.

“Hey, rest. I’ll make us something to eat and we will continue our conversation later. Ok?”

Zhen Wen smiled. “Ok.”

Just like before when Zhen Wu heard his little brother’s confession and they had decided time was the best remedy for their situation back then, time would be the best solution for Zhen Wen now too. He just knew it.

 


	4. Chapter 4

There was a fluttering on the exposed side of his face. It was like the barest of touch, feather-like and repetitive. Zi Xuan rose slowly from unconsciousness, opening his eyes to the blurry outline of somebody lying before him in bed. Things slowly started to fall into place and before the panic could rise inside him, Zi Xuan felt movement and then his glasses was being perched on his nose.

He could see Yu Hao clearly, and he didn’t know what he was expecting but this passive, unreadable expression on his boyfriend’s face was not one of them.

He swallowed and it felt like lead weight in his stomach. He felt like he was heating up rapidly too.

“Yu Hao…”

“How are you feeling?”

His boyfriend cut him off before he could go further and he sounded really awful too. If Zi Xuan could feel any guiltier he would wither away like a dead plant cut off from sun and water for months.

“I’m…” He didn’t want to say ‘fine’, what right did he have? But he didn’t want to say he wasn’t either because his boyfriend would worry too much. Probably. At this point in time he couldn’t imagine why Yu Hao would care about what he said and how he felt.

He wanted to apologize so bad for what he did the night before it felt like it was choking him.

“L-last night… I…,”

“Hey, hey, why are you talking about last night now?” Yu Hao shifted on to his side so he could hold his hand and Zi Yuan felt tears slip from his eyes when he saw the wince his boyfriend tried to hide.

“I’m so sorry,” he managed as his tears turned to sobs. “S-sorry…”

Yu Hao hugged him tight to his chest and although Zi Xuan felt he didn’t deserve it, he held on like his life depended on it.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Zi Xuan kept repeating through his sobs and Yu Hao just held him close and wouldn’t let go. His boyfriend said nothing while he released his emotions but his fingers carding through his hair was pleasantly welcomed.

Yu Hao lifted his face by his chin so they could look at each after a few minutes and he asked softly, “Are you done?”

Zi Xuan nodded but rolled on to his back. He was as prepared as he would ever be for them to go their separate ways at this moment, which was not prepared at all. He would understand if Yu Hao needed time to get over things first, if he wanted to get his bearings without being reminded of what had happened.

“What are you thinking?”

“That right now will maybe be the last we will embrace like this,” he answered, very straight forward and practical. It’s one of the traits he had in common with his little sister.

His boyfriend took a very deep breath and he closed his eyes and tightened his arms, anticipating the worst.

“This is not even a fraction of how many times we’ll embrace,” Yu Hao answered softly. “But I must admit…”

Yu Hao turned his chin so they could look each other in the eyes and Zi Xuan wanted to break down when he only saw love, understanding and hope reflected there.

“I’m angry right now that you didn’t listen to me. There’s a reason I don’t want you in that part of town at all. You’re book smart but you’re not street smart, so I wanted to teach you a few things before I would think to put you in that environment. Do you understand me?”

Zi Xuan nodded vigorously. Even Zhen Wen had warned him that first time that that place wasn’t for a person like him but he didn’t care. He didn’t care up until he’d reached the club doors last night either because he wanted to see for himself so bad what he was being protected from and he thought he could handle it.

The joke’s on him.

“So listen to me next time when I tell you something about my side of things, ok?” Yu Hao continued and Zi Xuan nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

“I don’t want anything to happen to either of us again, you got me?”

Zi Xuan kept nodding his head. “I don’t either. I’m sorry…”

Before he could repeat his apology again Yu Hao kissed him softly on the lips, effectively shutting him up.

“Shhh. Get some rest, you look almost as bad as me.”

Zi Xuan couldn’t imagine how he could ever be any worse off than Yu Hao, but he accepted the peace offering for what it was. He snuggled into Yu Hao’s embrace and closed his eyes, sighing in relief. They weren’t exactly alright yet but they would get better and for now, that’s all he could ask for.


End file.
